Best team in FSU history? Fayetteville State women roll into Round 2 of NCAA Tournament

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Fayetteville State women’s basketball team has matched the deepest run in program history, winning its NCAA Division II Tournament opener against Indiana University of Pennsylvania 72-63 on Friday on the campus of Fairmont State.

CIAA Player of the Year Aniylah Bryant led the Broncos with 23 points. Ranked No. 1 in steals per game in the nation, Bryant also had eight steals Friday as FSU held the advantage in several categories.

The Broncos, who extended a 14-game winning streak and pushed the best record in program history to 28-2, led the Crimson Hawks (21-8) in fastbreak points 30-8; with a 17-7 edge in steals, a 26-18 advantage in points off turnovers, and FSU outscored IUP 42-22 in the paint.

Fayetteville State shot 47.5% from the field Friday and forced 27 IUP turnovers.

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The Broncos went on a 7-0 run behind a Talia Trotter putback, a pair of Bryant layups and a free throw to take a 41-38 lead in the third quarter and they wouldn't trail again.

Historic victory

The 2023-24 Broncos had already set a new standard for FSU women's basketball coming into NCAAs. Now, they've etched their place onto the program's Mt. Rushmore of all-time greats.

Friday's win over IUP is the third NCAA Tournament victory in program history, with the others coming in 1997 and 2003. No Broncos squad has ever won a second NCAA Tournament game.

Fayetteville State will look to change that Saturday with a Round 2 matchup against Atlantic Region host and No. 2 seed Fairmont State (27-5) at 7 p.m. The game will be live-streamed on NCAA.com at a cost of $9.95.

Coming in hot

The Broncos’ physical play resulted in 17 IUP turnovers in the first half, 11 of them coming from steals. Fayetteville State also outscored the Crimson Hawks 10-2 in fastbreak points in the first half.

The Broncos set the high-energy tone early and stuck with it, part of the "we aren't changing" game plan the Broncos brought into the NCAA Tournament.

"The style of play might be different but we’re not going to change up what we’re doing," FSU sophomore forward Amina Miles said Tuesday after an intense five-on-five practice session. "As long as we keep playing the same way that we’ve played the entire season, then we should be fine.

"We play fast-paced, high energy, everyone knows how to finish in transition. Our defense is crazy. We’re very long on the back end and at the top, we have Niy playing up there where she can get every steal."

Strong performers

In addition to Bryant's big numbers, Trotter had 15 points and five steals for the Broncos, and Daziyahna Wilson had 10 points and made all five of her field-goal attempts.

Keayna McLaughlin had a team-high six rebounds and Morgan Graham added four rebounds and she blocked three shots.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NCAA D2 women's basketball tournament Fayetteville State beats IUP